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Push to shush train horns in Boulder gains steam

Nine 'quiet zones' could cost city $5M

By Alex Burness

Staff Writer

Posted:
05/21/2016 09:15:00 AM MDT

Updated:
05/22/2016 08:22:34 AM MDT

A stationary train lights up a cyclist who has just crossed the train tracks on Pearl Parkway in Boulder Junction on Wednesday. The train was switching cars on a side track. (Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer)

The Nine

From the corner of Diagonal Highway and 63rd Street, Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains roll into Boulder and pass through nine public crossings before heading out of town at east Arapahoe Road. Many who live and work near the crossings say the trains' horn blares are too loud, and the city estimates it would cost about $5 million to create "quiet zones" at each of the nine spots in question. From north to south — including these are the crossings Boulder hopes to silence:

• 63rd Street, just south of the Diagonal

• 55th Street, just south of the Diagonal

• Jay Road, just east of the Diagonal

• Independence Road, just east of the Diagonal

• 47th Street, just east of Foothills Parkway between Sterling Drive and the Diagonal

• Valmont Road, between Foothills Parkway and 30th Street

• Pearl Parkway, between Foothills Parkway and 30th Street

• 55th Street, just south of Central Avenue

• 63rd Street, just north of Arapahoe Road

In the Kings Ridge neighborhood off Foothills Parkway, Jeff Robers is used to the blaring train horns that pass by his home on a near-daily basis, but only in the way that a cannery worker eventually comes not to mind the stench of dead fish.

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"It wakes me up, and I can go back to sleep," Robers said. "But when it comes to friends and family that visit me, that's the first conversation they'll have with me in the morning — 'What's with the train noise?' I'll come downstairs and there they are at the dining table, a little rattled."

A mile away at Sanitas Brewing Company in Boulder Junction, there are periods of nearly every day when a train rolls past on the nearby Burlington Northern Sante Fe rail, and those in the taproom must pause conversation and plug their ears.

And at home a block from the brewery, Boulder's Jose Beteta is also on constant alert.

"It sounds like the train is running straight through the apartment," he said.

From the corner of Diagonal Highway and 63rd Street, the Burlington Northern trains wind into Boulder, roughly parallel with Foothills before veering east at Boulder Junction and out of the city at east Arapahoe Road.

At nine different crossings along that route, the schedule-less trains blare their horns, because they have to. Federal law mandates that when trains pass by public crossings anywhere in the United States, at any time of day, a horn be sounded at between 96 and 110 decibels, at least 15 seconds in advance of arrival.

For anyone in the immediate area of these horns, that's a noise level comparable to standing at a live rock show or next to a power lawn mower.

Pick a city in northern Colorado, and there's a good chance it's got citizens, businesses and policy-makers united in a fight to silence the horns and restore peace in neighborhoods and commercial districts.

And now, as the Federal Railroad Administration is in the process of reviewing its train horn regulations, count Boulder among the cities ramping up efforts to limit the noise.

Through July 5, the Federal Railroad Administration is soliciting public comment on the use of train horns at public crossings, but even if the current law is ultimately upheld, Boulder has a plan to shush the blare.

It won't be cheap, though.

Kathleen Bracke, manager of the city's Go Boulder transit program, said that the city estimates it would cost about $5 million to create "quiet zones" at each of the nine crossings. They would be customized by location, but these zones generally involve four-quadrant gates — they're better at stopping people from driving around the traditional two crossing arms, she said — and electronic notification systems.

Boulder is hoping for $1 million from the Denver Regional Council of Governments, and expects to hear back on that front this summer. The rest of the money, Bracke said, would likely come from federal and state grants, and possibly from some public/private partnerships the city could explore.

"The fundamental goal is safety, but it does tend to be expensive," Bracke said.

"We understand this impact of train horn noise on Boulder residents," she added, "and we want to be able to address the concerns."

Three of the crossings along the Diagonal — 63rd Street, 55th Street and Jay Road — are either shared jurisdictionally between the city and county, or outright county spaces. But the train noises there impact city residents, Bracke said, which is why they're included among the nine spots being eyed. For those three crossings, Boulder will look to partner with the county to explore funding.

Bracke said her office is working on an update for the City Council's June 7 meeting, and a group of citizens, convened by local Coldwell Banker realtor Terri Furman, is prepping for a public engagement on the issue.

They met earlier this month to strategize, and agreed to lobby city leaders and residents in coming weeks, ahead of both the Federal Railroad Administration's ruling and any potential city action.

"Particularly with all the growth moving east in Boulder and Boulder County in general," Furman said, "this just seems like a problem that in this day and age can be fixed and should be fixed."

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